Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Sheesh, I leave Benny alone for one day on the blog and he comes down hard on the Wolverines after their best performance of the year.

Yet while I understand his skepticism (since U-M hasn't beaten anybody of note by which to judge this team post-Appy St/Oregon Debacles), I see the glass as more than half full. The team looked fantastic Saturday. Most of all, I don't know many teams that would have fought back the way this squad has after what it faced to open the season. It couldn't get any lower, but here we are, halfway through October, and Michigan controls its Big 10 destiny. Who'd'a thunk it after Oregon? Not this blogger. So props.

But to get Benny on everybody, we still have a long way to go. Those first two games haunt like a near fatal car accident -- one never feels the same behind the wheel again. So too with the team. We've been hurt in the past. We can only hope it doesn't happen again.

Ok, due to real life, was unable to get up some thoughts on Purdue earlier so here goes...

* Joe Tiller is an ass. I understand playing until the end and getting guys some experience, but his airing it out and kicking multiple onside kicks down by over 30 with less than two minutes left is bush. Hell, he had his team kick an onside kick with :08 seconds left and down by 28! Fuck you, Joe. There is NO purpose in that. None, zip, zero. All that does it get guys injured. And for what? Do that shit in practice, the game is long over you fucking second rate hack. Eight seconds left and trying an onside kick down 28?! Fuck you.

While I didn't see it, a couple Buckeye posters said he pulled the same shit against OSU the previous week. Hey, Joe, maybe if your team didn't suck ass (aka Play like Purdue when it counts) the first 58 minutes, that crap might mean something.

* Related to that, some Michigan fans need to get a clue. After Purdue attempted and recovered their second onside kick in a row, a few of the fans near me yelled something to the effect of, "C'mon, Lloyd! You need to practice special teams!"

To those that said this (and the handful of others I heard voicing basically the same sentiment as I left the stadium), I have one thing to say: You're morons. We had, like, our fifth string in the game at this point. Just as there is no reason for Joe "We always look great until we play anybody" Tiller to be going for onside kicks with :08 seconds left in a 28 point game, there is even less reason for Michigan to have its best "hands team" out on the field at that point.

So to those bitching and moaning - please - learn some basic football. You look like idiots saying stuff like that about your own team.

* And speaking of morons...

While the vast majority of Purdue fans I saw at the game were great fans, there were a group of Boilers near us who were of the obnoxious variety. For the five minutes the game was close, they were being complete tools. Then silence took over until the end when - as they were leaving - they started simply saying "Appalachian State."

Is that it? Is that really the best you have? While I know we Michigan fans are going to be hearing that one for a looooong time to come, it takes a real set of brass balls to be talking that shit after your team just got ass-raped in front of a 110,000 fans in the stands and 152 folks watching on the BTN. Hope they enjoyed the drive back to West Lafayette.

* I really like Michigan's new kicker, K.C. Lopata. Not only does he make kicks but he's really fired up out there. And isn't he a senior walk-on? I love stories like that.

* Benny - and many others - are right when they say Michigan's problem isn't with the spread, it's with mobile QBs.

* That "Key Play" shit on the scoreboard has got to go. Maybe we should start an email campaign to the athletic department.

* Crazy as it sounds, the injury to Hart might have been a good thing in that it forced Mike DeBord to have to think of something other than "Run Mike Hart to the Left" as his first (and second and third) option on each play.

* Oh, and speaking of scoreboard, Joe and the "Appy State" trash talkers, just a reminder...(Pic HT: JS)

The constant sense that something will always go wrong (and considering we have only won 1 nat'l championship in 50 years, something almost always does), that you (and mgoblog) described perfectly is much more relevant factor to our fans being quiet than any "key play" does. IMO.

I guess I don't understand why anyone would want to bring up Appy State, after we just creamed the daylights out of them.....don't they get that they now LOST to the team that lost to Appy State? That is incredibly stupid.I had a few Purdue fans near me, they were very nice and polite.

Yost, Our special teams has not played well this season, they should have stayed in the game and practiced, rather than sending in the 5th string. IMHO. That of course is no excuse for what Purdue did......which I agree with you....was totally Lame.

And....since you apparently were at the game.......the key play thing.........Yeah, there are people who do it and as I stated, one guy near me, did it as a hand gesture......no keys in hand....and not a noise out of his mouth......*rolls Eyes*......you had to notice that on key plays....when that sign went up.....the majority of the crowd rose to their feet and MADE NOISE. That sign prompted lots of people to MAKE NOISE.. Just sayin....

I think a more appropriate response would be, "You live in West Lafayette."

I'd rather Michigan lose to a D-AA school every year for the rest of my walking days than live in that shithole for 24 hours. I don't know how how Gary gets such a bad rep when it's in the same state as West Lafayette.

As a Purdue graduate and current student, I may be able to explain the fan base slightly.

For the 80s and 90s we were subjected to the likes of Jim Colletto.

In Indiana, IU gets all the press across the state as we're a basketball first kinda place. So we are a little like the red-headed step-child.

When I graduated from HS, Tiller came on and my Freshman year was his first. It was a great time to be a Purdue fan, and we were just off the Colletto years so people didn't act like jackasses. They were just happy to be there.

Then he continued to have good seasons and go to bowl games. And the kids here began to expect it, and started getting cocky. I don't like it anymore than the fans these people taunt.

Now the kids were talking BT Championship and possible NC at the start of the season. I didn't think so, but the expectations have grown w/in the fanbase and frustrations are coming out when we play at the level we are actually at. Part of this is Tiller's fault, due to his pre-season proclamation that this may be the best team he's coached. People forgot he said that a few years ago and we went 5-6, and that he says that just about every year.

As for me, I was expecting 8-4 or 9-3 with the usual losses to OSU, UM, and/or Iowa/PSU. For some reason, with UM losing and then us starting 5-0 against low level competition...

Here's what I don't get about the Big Ten network. Presumably, 10 of the 11 Big Ten schools are publically funded which means they get some of my tax dollars. So they have the audacity to ask for another $1.10/month (or whatever it's supposed to be)?

Next point, with the Big Ten Network taking the games that used to be shown on the ESPNs, are they shooting themselves in the foot as far as National coverage goes? One of the columnists brought this up last week (Freep maybe?) and he thinks that they are dragging themselves down in the polls.

Speaking of the polls...what are the chances that two 1 loss teams could be playing the BCS game?

The Big-10 Network is good for only one thing. The out of state fan, such as myself. I have to go to a sportsbar to watch it, but OSU is pretty much a lock to be on national or BTN. The only game I couldn't get so far was Kent State, shrug.

As for the onside kick, Ty Willingham did the same thing to us, after we gave him a gimme touchdown. 27-14 1 minute to play and he did that after we clearly a) Quit trying to run up points b) Threw in the towel on defense. He got a bit of instant Karma when Saine took it to the house on them though.

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